Using School Safety Funds More Wisely
Sometimes “fair” is not smart. A plan for distributing safety and security funds to Ohio public schools is an excellent example of that.
State officials plan to distribute $12 million that has been set aside to improve school security. A few days ago, the state attorney general’s office announced the formula by which the money will be doled out.
Each school will receive $5.65 for each of its students, or at least $2,500, according to the distribution formula.
Money can be used in various ways, such as training resource officers or helping students with severe emotional issues, state officials say.
Well, using a per-pupil formula for the funding may sound fair — but how much good will it accomplish? Very little. Even a relatively large school, with 1,000 students, would receive only $5,650. Not much can be done with that amount of money.
A better system would be to use the money for large-scale safety and security initiatives in fewer schools. That, at least, could provide demonstration projects that, in the end, could benefit every public school in Ohio.
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